The Rebirth of a Nation
by Galia
Summary: OK, this is a strange one. The royal family dies and Tortall becomes a democracy...quite weird, and not yet complete. What do you think? Should I continue or is it freakishly unusual?
1. Death of a Monarchy and its Monarchs

The Rebirth of a Nation

The Rebirth of a Nation

(Tortall gets a Democratic Government)

A/N: This is a very, very strange idea, but that's what I like to do. I know this is highly unlikely and I had to take some dramatic liberties. I'm also venturing into a few unexplored sides of some characters, so it may or may not fit your idea of them. And I'm also moving the story along pretty quickly, because otherwise it would take me forever to get to the point. I know this probably wouldn't happen as fast as it does here, and I know it's unlikely that things would happen _so_ similarly to what I learned in American History. But bear with me, people.

Disclaimer: The characters and countries belong to the great Tamora Pierce, and the government system belongs to various nations around the world. Oh yes, the title belongs to a silent movie (loosely).

{}={}={}

When the realm woke up, the royal family was dead.

King Jonathan of Conté, his wife Thayet, and all of their children were found stabbed to death in their beds. No one else in the palace was harmed.

In the upheaval that followed, the Provost's men somehow managed to catch the murderer. A madman named Sammur Reltigan was found in the city of Corus brandishing a knife dripping with blood, which top mages confirmed to belong to the royal family. When questioned, he admitted his guilt immediately and added that he would just as soon do it again. When pressed for a reason, the subject laughed maniacally and began to sing.

Sammur Reltigan was executed quietly. Nobody would have noticed anyway: Tortall was in chaos.

{}={}={}

"Gary, you have to do something!" the Lioness cried. She was fighting to hold back tears, completely forgetting in her grief that Gary and Jon had been close friends, too.

"What do you want me to do?" Gary rarely lost his temper, but he was on the verge. Within a few days, news of the royal family's death had spread throughout the realm, and now all of Tortall was looking to him for leadership. _But can I provide it?_ he thought.

"I don't know," Alanna said. "Appoint a new king or something. Or step up yourself."

"I wouldn't be king for all the gold in Carthak," Gary retorted. "And there's no one in line for the throne."

The prime minister sat at his desk and put his head in his hands. "There's no one to rule. No one who was even a close relation to J—to the king." It still hurt to say Jon's name.

A knock sounded at the door, and a servant admitted Myles of Olau. "How are you two holding up?" he asked quietly. The miserable faces they turned to him more than answered his question.

"The worst part," said Gary, "is that we have no time to grieve. We need someone in power, and we need them now."

"But we don't know who!" Alanna interjected angrily. "There's no one in line, and no obvious person to appoint."

"I've been thinking about that," Myles said. The two others turned to him expectantly. "Place no one on the throne. Dissolve the monarchy, and think up something else."

Alanna's jaw literally dropped open. Gary's eyes widened, but they held a sparkle of interest. "Do you think…do you honestly think…"

"They'll need rules," Alanna said, having gathered her wits. "Otherwise they'll just fight the whole time."

"But they'll never accept rules we place on them," Gary said.

Myles held up a hand for silence as he thought. Shortly, he dropped it and said, "Why not let the people make their own rules?"

Alanna frowned; politics weren't her strong point. But Gary was nodding slowly, an expression of wonder on his face. "Myles, you're brilliant!" He grinned for the first time since Jon's death. "We're going to make this work!"

{}={}={}

"It won't work, not in a million years!" protested Raoul. "The only thing that's kept Tortall going through the years is the presence of a strong leader."

"I think he's right," said Lord Imrah of Legann. "It's not fair to the people of the realm to thrust all the power into their hands now. They won't know how to handle it."

"Then we shall have to do it very carefully," said Myles. He looked down the table, at the king's former advisors. A few of the older nobles were vehemently against the idea of establishing a people's government. Others seemed to think the idea would work. Myles was trying to let everyone express his or her opinion.

However, the novelty had not work off Gary. "But think, what if it worked? Can you imagine? Can you just imagine?"

Alanna shook her head. "There's only one way to find out. We should try it." Ignoring several outcries of dissent, she settled back into her chair.

Myles and Gary were ready to take over—they had been up until the small hours of the morning devising a plan. The younger man stood, and the table got quiet.

"Here's a copy of a leaflet we're going to have printed up," he said, passing a piece of paper clockwise around the table. "We'll need a representative from each town…"

{}={}={}

A/N: Yes, that was pretty strange, wasn't it? Not the kind of stuff I usually like. I haven't decided what will happen yet, so review and tell me what you want! You can also review and tell me that I'm a freak for even having this idea, but I'll most likely continue it anyway (unless the negative response is overwhelming). 


	2. Plans, Squires, and Useless Information ...

A/N: Thank you, **infoplease.com**! A few phrases might be called plagiarism, but I maintain that the characters made me do it.

{}={}={}

The meeting was over. Many of the top nobles in the country had left grumbling about the inability of the people to rule themselves, but many others had been swayed by Gary's enthusiastic endorsement of the idea. Now the room was nearly empty, with one prime minister, one scholar, one mage, and one female warrior still sitting around the long table.

"We all know what Gary and Myles want," said Alanna practically. "And I'm all in favor of trying this out, as long as I don't have anything to do with it. But what about you, Numair? Do you think that this could honestly work?"

"I know it could!" Numair replied earnestly. "We won't be the first nation to abolish the autocracy; Grecia tried it seven hundred years ago before being conquered by the Carthaki Empire. They had a form of representative government, based on the idea that certain civil liberties cannot…mmph!"

Alanna placed a hand firmly over Numair's mouth. 

"I'll count you as a yes," Gary said helpfully as a knock sounded at the door. Myles got up to open it, and a squire entered, balancing a tray of tea.

"I thought you'd never get here, Neal," said Alanna. Neal smiled at everyone in the room and placed the tray on the table.

"I had some trouble getting through the halls," he said. "There are people everywhere, standing around and arguing, and messengers rushing all over the place."

"Has anyone told you what's going on here, Neal?" asked Myles. Neal shook his head, and Gary briefly summed up the points discussed during the meeting.

"You mean we're going to do what the Grecians did, seven hundred years ago?" he asked, excited. "Establish equality of opportunity and—" 

His knight-master gave him a look that could freeze the sun. "Um, I'll just be pouring the tea now, then?" he mumbled. Numair gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I guess the messages are going out," Myles commented. "But what can we do with all the people when they arrive?'

"We can open up all the spare rooms in the palace," Gary said. "There should be enough, and if not, we'll reserve some inns in the city. And maybe some towns will just pick someone who already lives at the palace—a noble or someone."

"Neal, can you find Salma and tell her to start airing out the rooms?" Alanna asked. Her squire nodded and left. 

"How long do we have?" Numair asked. "I never got to read a copy of the announcement."

"We're going to start our meetings in six months," Myles said, "but we can expect people to start arriving much earlier."

"I hope we don't have to receive them with fancy parties and useless banquets," Alanna grumbled. Gary shook his head.

"This is too serious for frivolity," he said solemnly. "I think everyone knows that."

{}={}={}

Kel silently poured tea for the men sitting in Raoul's sitting room. None of them paid any attention to her, although many would have sneered insults and challenges had circumstances been different.

"…destroy everything Jon's built up over the years," Raoul was saying. The men were nodding in agreement.

"Our people just aren't competent enough to make these decisions," Lord Wyldon of Cavall put in. "There's a reason why things have been left to nobles for centuries."

"I don't think they're incapable—" Raoul amended, but Imrah of Legann interrupted, intransigently malingering Raoul's good intentions.

"This insane idea is going to ruin our kingdom. We need to find our supporters; anyone who wants to keep the monarchy, or even anyone who's unsure. We need to get them on our side, and we need to do it as soon as we can."

"Now wait a minute!" Raoul said. "I never said I wanted to undermine what Gary's trying to do. I'm just not sure it's entirely wise."

"It's worse than that," said Wyldon, "it's intrinsically foolish. It must be stopped."

{}={}={}

It had been yet another late night for the people who were currently holding Tortall together. Gary and Alanna discussed the meetings, and how they could be run most efficiently and fairly, while Numair and Myles made themselves useful in the library.

"We can't have everyone there every day," Alanna argued. "There just isn't enough room."

"Princes and kings," Numair called from the back of the room.

"Was that supposed to be helpful?" Alanna retorted. She shook her head and said to Gary, "He can't say anything useful while he's reading. Just bits and pieces."

"Princes and kings," Gary mused. "Princes become kings, coronations…the Hall of Crowns! Good idea, Numair!" he called, but Numair was too deeply immersed in his book to notice.

"We could move around all the benches, and make it so that everyone can see each other—"

"The benches are stone," Gary pointed out. "Then again, you mages can handle that, can't you? If not, I guess we could put a floor over them at waist height…"

"We can do it," Alanna assured him. "The question is, is there enough room around the outside to hold everyone?"

"We need to find a map, and make an estimate of attendance," Gary said. "If Myles and Numair aren't on that, tell them to get moving."

{}={}={}

"Anything interesting?" Kel hissed. Neal, who was listening at the keyhole and reporting to his fellow squires, shook his head.

"Planning about how to arrange the people and where to hold the talks," he said.

"Boring," commented Owen. 

"I don't know what you expected," Cleon argued. "It's not like they're really going to be figuring things out. All the action will take place at the meeting."

The squires were forced to leap away from the door to the library when they heard loud footsteps down the hall. Hiding in the shadows, they were able to see the owners of the noisy shoes. First in line was Salma, followed by two country men looking very uncomfortable in their grand surroundings.

"The first of them are here," Neal commented unnecessarily.

{}={}={}

A/N: That was a little disjointed, a little longwinded, and pretty pointless, but I thought there were some things that needed to be said. I want your reviews anyway! And here's a paraphrased quote which should ring a bell with you (if you've been following current crises at all)…

_He who gives up his liberties for his safety will get nothing and deserves neither._

_ _

_~Benjamin Franklin_


	3. Mages are Stupid, Facemasks Indicate Vil...

A/N:

A/N:

{}={}={}

It had taken an army of palace servants over three weeks to prepare the Hall of Crowns. Right now, ten of them were adding the finishing touches—jugs of water on the town representatives' tables, ink and paper for the scribes, and a last-minute dusting of any surface that stood still. 

Meanwhile, while Salma's crew stirred up the dust, Gary was sitting on the edge of the couch in Alanna's room. At her insistence, he was drinking an herbal tea with calming properties.

"Relax, Gary," she ordered him for about the hundredth time. And for a second, he seemed to relax, until someone knocked softly on the door.

"Gary!" Alanna scolded as he jumped to his feet, spilling the tea all over the floor. 

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, reaching for a towel. Alanna went to answer the door. It was Myles, and his face was dead white.

"Someone's set fire to the Hall of Crowns," he told them.

{}={}={}

Gary, Alanna, and Myles arrived, panting, at the door to the Hall of Crowns to find servants and nobles alike frantically trying to douse the fire. Several mages were treating the fire like a large candle and attempting to "blow it out" with strong magical winds, but this only made it worse.

Numair came running down the stairs. He had obviously just left his workroom, as his sleeves were rolled up and his hands covered in a thick, goopy purple substance.

"Mages!" he called. The inept sorcerers let their wind die and turned their heads. "_Water,_" Numair said sensibly, and sent an ocean of water over the hall. Most of the flames subsided, and the other mages chased after the stray blazes.

Numair made his way through the crowd over to where Gary, Alanna, and Myles were standing. "Good thinking," Myles told him as a sympathetic Alanna brought her tired friend a glass of water (from one of the closed jugs).

"What are we going to do with all these people now?" Gary wondered aloud. The others looked at him in surprise. "Well, do you expect me to cancel the convention because of some insane conservative?"

"You don't _really_ think anyone did this on purpose, Gary, do you?" Alanna asked frantically. "_Do you?_"

"Everything suggests it," Gary said. "The day that we're set to begin, our meeting place is destroyed. There are plenty of people who don't want our efforts to succeed… "

{}={}={}

Numair, Alanna, and the other palace mages had assured Gary that the Hall of Crowns would be ready in twenty-four hours if they worked through the night. He had agreed to push back the meetings exactly one day, and left Myles to send messages throughout the palace while he went up to his room to ponder the problem. _Who is so against this that they would set fire to one of Tortall's monuments?_ he thought._ The Hall of Crowns was built before the writing of the Book of Gold. It's one of our most treasured monuments…_

"Gareth of Naxen!" called a voice a hundred or so feet down the corridor. Gary, about to open his door, turned around.

"Yes?" he asked impatiently. The owner of the voice was a man wearing a black facemask and carrying a crossbow with an arrow on the string. Gary dived out of the way, but not in time. He felt a sharp pain in his left bicep as he hit the floor painfully. By the time he had scrambled to his feet, the man was gone.

"Mithros," he whispered before losing consciousness. 

{}={}={}

"Gary? Can you hear me? Wake up, Gary!" 

Gary opened his eyes to a blurry world, and mostly something blurry and purple with orange on top. A few seconds later, he could distinguish Alanna, wearing a purple tunic, standing over him with an expression of worry on her face. The pain in his arm, while dulled (likely by the efforts of healers), was still acute. He sat up, head swimming briefly, and found himself in the healers' wing, as he had suspected.

"Alanna?" he said. She was sitting on a chair next to his bed, and took his hand gently.

"Do you remember who shot you?" she asked. "Did you see the face of anyone you knew?" Gary shook his head.

"It was a man with his face covered. He could have been anyone." He looked down dejectedly, and Alanna squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"What time is it?" he asked suddenly. Alanna twisted around to look at the clock on the wall.

"A little after ten," she said. "Duke Baird gave you a sleeping potion and…hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Gary had swung his legs over the edge of the bed and shook off Alanna's attempts to pull him back down. "I have less than half an hour to bathe and change," he said. "Make sure you get down to the Hall in time."

"But Gary!" the lioness protested as he tested out his balance. "You're supposed to stay here and rest until tomorrow! You can't go!"

"Watch me," he said, shutting the door behind him.

{}={}={}

A/N: I'm having a lot of fun with this! What do you think? I really, really like reviews! Especially on strange stories like this one. Oh, and if I make mistakes (I realized that I made a mistake in a Letters one, because I'm too lazy to proofread), can you call my attention to them? Thanks! 

Off-topic A/N: **_Never_** listen to David Bowie's "Space Oddity" during that time of the month if you get tearful like me. Just trust me on this one.


	4. Stuff Starts

(finally someone says to Raoul "your group is trying to save Tortall but you'll end up destroying it Jill Zavodnick Normal Jill Zavodnick 8 79 2001-10-05T20:04:00Z 2001-10-18T20:44:00Z 2 978 5577 Home 46 11 6848 9.3821 

A/N: This was a hard chapter to write, but an important one. It should finish quickly after this, unless I decide to do a chapter on what goes on in the committees. Which I might (yes, I'm evil and I'm boring all the people who are nice enough to read this story). I might do a sequel, a real Tortallan political story. Or not. In any case…

Politics is repetition. It is not change. Change is something beyond what we call politics. Change is the essence politics is supposed to be the means to bring into being.

_~Kate Millet_

{}={}={}

            The Hall of Crowns was full to capacity with representatives from all over Tortall, as well as servants, palace dwellers, curious people from Corus, and every landholding noble that was able to get to the palace. Like most court ceremonies, the first day of meetings was late getting started, giving the people of Tortall plenty of time to talk about the sudden change in events.

            "I heard a relative of the king came to claim the throne," one woman whispered to her companion, "and they had him killed."

            "Don't be ridiculous," said the man sitting next to her. "The Prime Minister was murdered. Someone shot him on the way to his rooms, clean through the heart."

            "You're both wrong," Numair said. He was leaning on the wall behind them. The man and woman looked to him expectantly, hungry for more information, but he ignored them and scanned the hall.

            A fanfare of trumpets quickly hushed the crowd, and all eyes turned to the small platform at the front of the room. Myles of Olau, flanked by several important nobles, raised a hand for attention.

            "Unfortunately, the Prime Minister will be unable to attend today," he began, but the main door burst open. Everyone in the room turned to see Gary stride quickly through it, Alanna two steps behind. Although his left arm was in a sling, he looked perfectly alive. Myles looked perfectly relieved, and was down off the platform before anyone in the audience saw him leave.

            Gary stepped up on the platform and waited for silence. He got his wish almost immediately. Taking a deep breath, he began the speech that he had been writing in his head for days.

            "Welcome, esteemed citizens of Tortall. As you all know, King Jonathan has been assassinated, as have all relatives close enough to take the throne. Rather than throw the realm into chaos, we are here today to create a new set of laws, which will allow the people of Tortall to govern themselves with no monarch. It is my belief that if we all work together and keep in mind what will serve the realm best in the distant future, we can build such laws—laws which will withstand the test of time."

            Gary bent his head and breathed an inner sigh of relief. Now that the preliminary remarks were over, it was time to really get started. After an additional second to collect his thoughts, he looked at the crowd again.

            _All these people right here,_ he thought, _and outside this room, an entire nation, all waiting for what I'm going to say next. Waiting to see how their children, and their children's children, are going to live._ It was a thought that was both frightening and exhilarating.

            "In such a large group," he continued, waving an arm casually to indicate the audience, "we could never hope to get anything accomplished. Instead, we're going to break up into much smaller committees, which will have various meeting places around the palace. Each representative may join as many committees as he or she would like, because each will meet at different times. 

            "Our first committee will meet right here in this room, with Myles of Olau and myself. The task of this committee will be to create the top office or offices in the nation, and decide how the officers should be selected and how much power they should be given. Next door, in the antechamber, will be His Grace Duke Turomot of Wellam's committee on the law. This committee's task will be to review the laws of the realm and decide which ones are fair and just, and revise or replace those that are not.

            "Lord Wyldan of Cavall has agreed to host a committee on nobility in his chambers. In our new government, everyone should be equal. Men, women, nobles, commoners, each person should live by the same set of laws and be given the same set of privileges. No one counts for any more than anyone else. This group will decide what to do with the old class system: it will either be abolished or radically modified."

            Gary continued to describe committees until every possible need was covered. After finishing, he gratefully accepted a glass of water from Alanna, took a few sips to soothe his strained throat, and resumed.

            "Please take one of these papers and pass the pile along," he said, starting a large stack of papers at the end of the bench nearest to him. "They list the meeting place of every committee. Right now, I would like you to go to the meeting place for each committee that you would like to join and sign up with the head of the committee. Once you are finished, there are refreshments in the Queen's Ballroom. Tomorrow we will meet here at nine in the morning and committee schedules will be handed out. Thank you for your help."

            Gary stepped down from the platform as loud applause filled the room. The people in the Hall of Crowns rose and began to disperse.

            "The fun's about to begin," Gary said to himself as he began to write down the names of the first people on his committee.

{}={}={}

            "Get it out of them carefully," Imrah of Legann instructed Raoul, "but make sure you get it out of them. If they can help us, put a little dot next to their name. _Discreetly_."

            "I know, I know," Raoul grumbled. At first, he had been enthusiastic about Imrah's idea, but he and Wyldon seemed to be the masters of menial tasks, while Imrah did the thinking. "You've told me."

            The first people to enter the room to sign up for the "nobility committee" were friends of Imrah, Wyldon, and Raoul. Just to make sure, Raoul asked them about their loyalties.

            "Do you really want the general public running the country?" Raoul asked an elderly noble. The man snorted.

            "I'm just glad _I'm_ close enough to dead to never see Naxen run this country into the ground," he said as Raoul put a black dot next to his name.

            Raoul started to notice a pattern. The people who were all in favor of creating a democratic government generally were commoners and progressives, and they came off as kinder individuals than the snooty, blue-blooded nobles who wanted nothing other than to find the closest living Conté. There were many more of the latter.

            _Maybe Gary has the right idea,_ Raoul thought to himself as the number of dots grew. _But it's too late to change my mind now._

{}={}={}

A/N: Hmm…doubt sets in…was there a better way? I'm really regretting having Raoul do what he's doing, but it's too late now. Hope everyone enjoyed it, and if you did I want to know. Or if you didn't enjoy it, I want to know why. So review it! Duh!


	5. Kel Pontificates

            A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Mrs. Reardon, my history teacher. Basically everything that Myles says comes from her. And all the history facts were learned in her class.

{}={}={}

"Someone is working _against_ us!" the lioness growled, punching the nearest available surface in frustration.

            "Ow," said Numair, the nearest available surface, clutching his arm. Gary was too busy pacing and thinking to notice, and the two squires in the room (Kel was helping Neal serve Alanna and her friends during her free time) controlled their laughter carefully.

            "I have to admit," Gary mumbled to himself, "everything's going better than it might be. I've heard some good ideas, and I can sense the outlines of a government. But where is all this resistance coming from?"

            "My lord?" asked Kel. Gary shook himself out of his thoughts and looked up to see his friend's squire offering him a cup of tea. He took it gratefully.

            "Thank you, Squire Keladry," he said. She bowed and went to serve the others.

            "It seems to be mostly nobles from old families—no offense Gary, Alanna, Neal," Numair said, nodding to each in turn. "People who have opposed every change in this kingdom since Jon took the throne. I don't see why this time should be any different. You can work around them, as usual."

            "It's not that simple," Gary said. "I hear their arguments against our efforts, and they all mention the same basic points. There has to be leadership coming from somewhere. But where?"

            There was a loud crash as Kel dropped the tea service. "I apologize," she said, stooping to pick it up with a face as unreadable as stone. The adults returned to their conversation, but Neal watched her hands, becoming increasingly white-knuckled as Gary continued to describe the opposition.

{}={}={}

            Raoul looked up from his work as he heard a sharp rap on the door that connected his squire's rooms to his own. "Come in, Kel," he called. She entered, looking at the ground and carrying a large stack of papers.

            "Thanks," he said. She nodded, still looking down and breathing deeply. She seemed to be trying to get her anger under control.

            "What's wrong?" he asked gently. She looked up with an expression of anger he had never before seen her wear.

            "What are you _doing_?" she said in a hoarse whisper. "I'm not stupid—I hear you at night, I hear you plotting. You want to destroy everything that my lord of Naxen has been trying to create. You think that the people can't rule themselves, but you're wrong! You and Lord Imrah and Lord Wyldon think that you're trying to save Tortall and bring back the old system of ruling, but your selfishness is really going to destroy your kingdom and throw it into a state of anarchy! Is that what you want?"

            Raoul blinked. He had never expected such a passionate speech from quiet, controlled Kel. She was still standing across from him, glaring angrily.

            "It's not my fault," he said. "I'm not the leader—Imrah is. I'm just helping. And how do you know we're not right?"

            "You told me yourself, sir, that conservatives can rarely see both sides of an issue," Kel replied, calming herself down using her Yamani methods. "If I'm not mistaken, you haven't been walking in my Lord Naxen's shoes for very long."

            Raoul considered. _She's right,_ he realized. _She's completely right, and I've been a fool._

            "There's nothing I can do about it now," he said with a sigh. "The conservatives would still go on without me."

            "My lord, you know what they're going to do to ensure that these meetings fail," Kel said. "All you have to do is go to Gary, tell him you were wrong, and give up as much information as you can. Think about it, sir," she said when he looked on the verge of protest. "It's the right thing to do."

            Raoul sighed. "You're right, Kel," he said. "I've been in the wrong completely. Thank you."

            "Any time, sir," she said. "Absolutely any time."

{}={}={}

            The fourth-year pages sitting in Myles's history class were unaware that Kel had almost made the conservative rebellion against democracy come grinding to a halt. They were looking at current events from a philosophical point of view.

            "Freedom…" Myles said, scribbling it onto the chalkboard, "versus law and order. How do we balance the two? The balance is important—too much freedom and you get this…"

            He wrote a word under "freedom:"

                        ANARCHY

            "…but too much law and order and you get this…" he wrote under "law and order:"

                        TYRANNY

            "Which of these do you want? If you cannot balance, you will have to choose. Yes, Peat?"

            Peat of Silverforest cleared his throat. "I'd rather have the tyranny, sir. The realm under King Jonathan was very organized, and His Majesty had a lot of power, but everything worked well." Myles nodded thoughtfully.

            "True, very true. Who would like to refute his argument?" No hands were raised. "All right then, think about this: Emperor Ozorne."

            Another page raised his hand. "Emperor Ozorne abused his power. We can't take the chance of letting that happen. It would be better to have no one person with all the power."

            "True again," Myles said. "But make sure you don't get too close to this." He tapped the word "anarchy" on the board.

            "A great thinker named Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that in order for a governing body to be legitimate, it had to have the approval of the people. Has anyone here read the works of Rousseau? Yes, your highness?"

            Jasson of Conté had read every book on history in the palace. "I read a compilation of the works of Rousseau and similar philosophers."

            Myles nodded. "Good, good. Enlightened Thinking, I assume?" The prince nodded. "I don't suppose you remember his suggestion for a balanced government?"

            "He said that a government should have three branches: one that creates the laws; one that implements the laws; and one that deals with lawbreakers."

            "Excellent," Myles said. "Thank you, your highness.

            "_This_ is what Gareth of Naxen and his troupe are trying to create. A balanced government, one that protects you without oppressing you. At your young age, knowing so little history, you can't even begin to imagine what a difficult task this is. Yes, Peat?"

            Peat spoke quietly. "Do you think they'll be able to do it, sir?" he asked timidly.

            Myles nodded gravely. "Yes. Yes, I think they can."

{}={}={}

A/N: I am opposed to shallow patriotism. "Oh, we're in a war, I think we're right, let's put out a flag." Instead, I believe people should strive to understand what makes our society unique and why our form of government has failed in every other place where it has been implemented. 

            Some people _know_ current events; others _understand_ them. If you want to begin to comprehend our current situation, I would suggest you read the main article of a _Newsweek_ that came out in early October: "Why do they Hate Us?" We read it in history class (thank you again, Mrs. Reardon!) and I found it extremely enlightening. And speaking of the Enlightenment, it's a good historical people to read about. Intellectuals like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire (who are only two of many) shaped civilization in the United States today (they were influenced by Great Britain's Glorious Revolution and were driving factors for the revolutions in nations such as the United States, France, Haiti…). If you don't know why we're free and yet not free, balanced precariously somewhere between anarchy and tyranny, how can you possibly claim to believe in your stars and stripes?


End file.
